Firefly
by Zero Unit RGB
Summary: Shino Aburame moves through his life unnoticed. Even his own friends ignore him on some days. So tonight, he decided that if he was going to be forgotten, might as well give them an excuse. But for the first time, someone does notice him. A cute, fluffy one-shot because this insect user deserves a little love. Read and review!
**Author's Note: This is my first Naruto fic and it is set during the next generation. My close friend and I were talking the previous night and we mentioned how bad we felt for Shino since he's always being ignored. Thus, this story bloomed. Enjoy!**

The nightlife of the Leaf Village was as busy as it was during the daytime though there were some streets where a ninja could walk down peacefully. This is exactly what Shino Aburame wanted on this brisk winter evening. If he was going to be ignored and forgotten, he could at least go to a place where there would be an excuse for being by himself.

As he passed by the park that he and his former classmates used to spend time at, he paused. Even when he was a child, he never found any joy in going down a slide or being on a swing. It's not like it was boring or anything. It just simply appealed to him.

But tonight, he wanted to lose himself. He had a difficult time at the Academy that day. Trying to get the new generation of Leaf shinobi to pay attention to him was about as easy as asking Kiba to abandon Akamaru on a mission. So why not do something that wasn't… Shino-like? After all, if anyone saw him, they would just ignore him, like they always do.

This was how the young man found himself seated on one of the swings, his plastic bag of groceries on a nearby bench. As he pumped his legs back and forth to get himself moving, he watched the fireflies floating around him, looking like the stars had come down to play. He could never understand why so many people were repulsed by insects when he found them to be so charming. Was he, perhaps, odd? Naruto's called him weird before, hasn't he?

"You're… Aburame-sensei, right?"

Shino stopped swinging. This entire time, he had been looking up at the dark blue sky, staring at the half-moon and the stars and the lightning bugs. He really had lost himself to the point that he didn't even notice the presence approaching him until she was right in front of him. That would be bad if he was on a mission.

In front of him stood a woman that was maybe a few years younger than him, with brown hair that rested on her shoulders, wearing a pink trench coat and white scarf to shield her from the winter air. There was honestly no way to describe this girl but as ordinary because it's not like she was especially pretty nor was she unattractive. But what was strange was the fact that she had noticed him. Was it because he was doing something not Shino-like?

It took a few seconds but Shino eventually found his words. "Do I… know you?"

The woman smiled, relieved to know that she was right and that she hadn't just spoken to a total stranger. Well, she was still a stranger to him. "I'm Tani Hotaru, my brother is in your class. When he told me that his teacher was a member of the Aburame clan, I got excited and wanted to meet you."

"Excited to meet _me_?" Shino repeated. That was even stranger. "Most people I know aren't too interested in members of the Aburame clan."

"I know it must be odd for a stranger to just walk up to you. But… I've always liked bugs and I know that members of the Aburame clan use them as part of their ninjutsu," the woman explained. "When I saw you with those glasses on, I just knew you had to be him."

Hotaru bounded over to the swing beside the man, sitting down and teetering back and forth just a little bit in awkward silence. Shino had to wonder if there was something fundamentally wrong with him if he was questioning why another human being wanted to converse with him. And it wasn't even one of his friends. If it had been Hinata or Kiba to approach him, he wouldn't be so on edge.

Well, either way, he could still humor her. There wasn't that much of a chance for the two of them to meet ever again after this encounter except maybe during her younger brother's graduation. But if they were ever on the same village street, she probably wouldn't even notice him.

"Are fireflies your favorite kind of bug?" Shino inquired.

Hotaru giggled. "Well, my mother's is and that's why she named me Hotaru. What about you?"

"I could never choose a favorite," Shino replied without missing a beat. "Fireflies brighten up the night, butterflies brighten a person's mood, bees brighten fields by spreading pollen for the flowers, and beetles brighten up forests by bringing them alive."

"For someone who comes from a family that's always wearing sunglasses, you sure do like to use the word brighten."

Was that supposed to be peculiar or amusing? Shino wasn't quite sure. He considered himself to be a rather bright person though his wardrobe choices and lack of flamboyant language probably said otherwise. Still, this girl's laughter was not an unwelcome thing to hear and it didn't seem like it was meant to be.

"Do you want to meet one of my bugs?" Shino asked.

Hotaru lit up like the very insect she was named after. "Can I?"

The teacher raised one of his arms. "Which one would you like to meet?"

"Any that want to meet me," Hotaru answered, with that same wind chime laughter.

Shino decided to take this remark rather seriously as he let the bugs that wanted to crawl out to do so. A Hercules beetle was the first to escape his sleeve and spread his wings, flying over to Hotaru. It felt like an examination of sorts for her since this was one of his bigger insects.

Would this girl run and flee and prove that this was all some sort of cruel prank set up by his Inuzuka clan teammate? Honestly, he wouldn't put it past Kiba to do something as childish as that. Should he be ashamed for thinking of his own teammate in this manner? No, he felt like he had a right to be skeptical.

"A Hercules beetle!" Hotaru gasped. She held out a hand and to Shino's surprise, the bug landed on her palm without a second thought. "He's so cute!"

Shino's jaw hung open. "Cute?" He's never heard a girl outside the Aburame clan refer to a bug as cute before. "Is… that how you see him?"

Hotaru nodded excitedly. "The only beetle that could possibly look cuter is a Goliath."

The man would've done a spit take or choked if he had been drinking some sort of liquid. As a matter of fact, he actually started choking on the very oxygen he was breathing. After all, what person aside from an Aburame clan member actually wanted to _see_ a Goliath beetle? They were among the largest insects in the world!

"Are you okay?" Hotaru asked.

"I'm fine," he answered. "It's just; I've never met someone like you outside of my family."

The brunette's smile suddenly seemed to fade a little on her face. It was as if she had retreated into her shell while lightly petting the top of the Hercules beetle's head. "It must be weird, right? When I was little, none of the other girls in my neighborhood wanted to play with me because I would always want to go bug hunting in the forest."

It was at this moment that Shino came to the realization that she hadn't shown up in front of him by some accident. Not only was her interest in bugs genuine but it was clear that she had a lonely childhood. With people as rambunctious as Naruto and Kiba around him, it was difficult for Shino to relate because every day felt like a party with those two around.

But while he wallowed in his own self-pity, it never occurred to him that someone else in the village could've possibly lived a lonelier life. Well, aside from Naruto during his early years which he learned about from observing Hinata when she had been observing him.

"Were you perhaps the one who slathered sap on the trees right outside the Academy?" Shino asked.

Hotaru blinked a couple of times, probably wondering if he had actually spoken since he was usually so quiet. "Ah, yes, I was. How did you know?"

"When I was still a student myself, I used to go into the woods all the time because my bugs always liked to spend time there," Shino explained. He didn't add that it was because he also liked being alone with them rather than be in the company of his peers. "There were some days when I would follow them to some sweet pine honey on the bark. That must've been you, right?"

At first, she seemed surprised, but then she started laughing, accidentally making the Hercules beetle leave her palm and back into the colony that was Shino. "Now that's a little funny. For something that I had done when I was five years old to have been something you encountered when you were… ten, maybe?"

"That sounds about right," Shino chuckled. There was a moment of disbelief when he realized this. He never laughs.

"You seem surprised by your own laughter," Hotaru noticed. "It sounds nice, you know."

That was the first time that someone had ever complimented him on something as small as that. Then again, it's not like there are many people out there who has heard him laugh. Well, maybe there was that time when he went on that mission with Naruto. But Hotaru was still one of the first to hear his genuine laugh.

"Thank you… Your laugh… is really pretty," Shino admitted.

A tinge of pink reached Hotaru's cheeks and she turned her head to hide her smile. "Thank you."

"Don't turn away," Shino suddenly told her, wondering where these words were coming from. "I… want to see you smile."

Hotaru turned back to him, showing him a brighter smile than before. After a little more light conversation on various bugs, she asked him if there was any possibility for his bugs to push them on the swings. Shino didn't like using his insects to do something so… unimportant. But for some reason, he found it hard to turn away her request.

Before long, a swarm of insects had started gently pushing the pair back and forth on the swings. Shino had expected this trivial request to be pointless to his buzzing friends but they all seemed to want to do this for Hotaru. Or maybe it was for both of them.

Shino observed the other girl as she stared up at the night sky like he had mere seconds before she showed up. He knew that she wanted to go higher, to feel like she was flying high enough to touch the moon or to bring down the stars. But she was likely too afraid to ask more of him than she already had. So he asked his bugs instead, to push them higher.

Suddenly, the two of them were getting higher, closer to the midnight blue painting but not close enough to touch. It's never close enough for that. But Shino could always bring the stars down to her which is exactly what he did.

"The fireflies!" Hotaru gasped, laughing as she watched them dance around her face. "They're always so beautiful!"

It was then that Shino realized he wasn't looking at the fireflies or the sky or even the trees that lined the perimeter of the park. He was looking at Hotaru. "Yeah, the fireflies… are really beautiful." She was like a star that had come down to play.

"Aburame-sensei," she started.

"Outside the classroom, I'm just Shino," he said.

"Then, Shino-san, do you think we can do this again sometime?"

Would there even be another time? "Maybe. My work keeps me busy. But I would like to," Shino told her. "Although, after tonight, you might end up forgetting about me."

Hotaru shook her head, suddenly reaching over as they swung back and forth, and taking hold of his hand. It surprised the teacher but her fingers felt warm and her skin was soft. They were in perfect sync with each other and for the first time in a long while, Shino actually felt like he wanted to freeze time in this moment.

"Not if it's Shino-san," Hotaru mused softly. "If it's Shino-san, I could spot you a mile away."

Shino was someone who always blended in with the crowd and is only ever picked out because one of his teammates can sniff him wherever. So this is something that he would've doubted if it hadn't come from Hotaru's mouth. Somehow, he believed it because they were her words.

Shino's grip seemed to have tightened on her hand. "You have no idea… how much that means to me."

Hidden in the bushes not too far behind their backs was a certain pair of ninjas as they watched their teammate doing something so unlike him. First, it was just being at a park and on a swing. Second, it was interacting so amicably with a total stranger. Third, it was holding hands with her while having his insects push him on the swing.

"Kiba-kun, don't you think it's wrong to spy on him?" Hinata inquired.

"We're all sensory ninja," Kiba reminded her. "If he hasn't noticed us, then it's his own fault. Besides, don't you want to see how this develops?"

"I know _I_ am."

They both froze up before pivoting their heads to the left to find a certain blonde kunoichi, who specialized in mind-based ninjutsu, crouching beside them. Next to her were her teammates, a certain lazy, shadow manipulator and a certain chubby, human boulder.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Kiba blanched before Shikamaru covered his mouth.

The genius spoke in a hushed tone. "Do you want him to notice us?"

"Besides, you guys _are_ sensory ninja," Choji pointed out, gobbling up handfuls of popcorn as he observed Shino. "The fact that you guys didn't notice us means it's your fault."

Suddenly, a brand new voice joined the group and they found a certain weapons specialist hiding on a tree branch right above them. "Shush, I can't hear them if you guys are all talking!" Beside her was a certain taijutsu expert who seemed to be fired up about youth as usual.

"I was worried that Shino wasn't feeling okay so I was going to do a checkup on him," another voice added. This time, it was their residential medical ninja, Sakura. "But it looks like I was worried for nothing. Do you guys think it'll work out?"

"I hope so," a black-haired artist remarked. He was already painting the scene before him onto a canvas. "Otherwise, I won't be able to give this to them as a wedding gift."

"Either way, this is good for Shino," said Naruto.

They all froze up and looked over to the spiky blond who was supposed to be doing paperwork considering he is the Hokage after all. Now that they thought about it, they all had their own jobs or children to get back to. Not to mention, it was probably wrong of them to spy on Shino this way. So they took off, giving their friend his well-deserved privacy, dragging the especially nosy Naruto and Kiba by their legs.

Still, it was kind of funny. For the first time, Shino hadn't gone unnoticed by his friends. But he didn't even notice them.

And yet he was happy to be all alone with this stranger instead.


End file.
